HPREP, 2017
While there is no teaching requirement for PiN students, the program strongly encourages students to make the most of teaching, mentorship, and outreach opportunities during their graduate career. PiN students actively participate in the programs highlighted below.
Offered as a specialized track within the Harvard Research Scholar Initiative (RSI), PiNBAC provides neuroscience-focused postbaccalaureate research and professional development experience to recent college graduates who plan to apply for PhD programs. For more information, visit the PiNBAC website. If you have additional questions, please contact Tari Tan or Bob Datta.
As part of a cross-institutional partnership in neuroscience research and education between HMS and the schools of the Atlanta University Center Consortium (Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University) PiN has partnered with the MSM B.S./M.S. program in Neuroscience to provide opportunities for student and faculty collaboration between our two institutions. A core component of this partnership is the visit of rising seniors in the B.S./M.S. program to Boston for 2-3 weeks during August to participate in quantitative training and professional development activities alongside incoming first-year PiN students. Members of PiN’s Underrepresented Scholars in Neuroscience (USN) group are integral in planning the visit, during which MSM students are introduced to Harvard Medical School faculty and research areas, become acquainted with Harvard PhD and MD programs, and meet members of the PiN and USN communities. For more information about the MAHPING Initiative, please contact Tari Tan.
Throughout the admissions season, PiN hosts a number of virtual open house events with current students and faculty for interested students and potential applicants to learn more about PiN, the admissions process, and other neuroscience research opportunities across Harvard.
The NIH Blueprint initiative “Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences” (ENDURE) provides research opportunities for students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, with the goal of preparing students to apply to and be successful in neuroscience PhD programs. Each year, PiN sends program representatives to the annual ENDURE meeting held in conjunction with the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) annual meeting to participate in the T32 Graduate Program Recruitment and Networking Fair. At both the recruitment fair and the ENDURE poster session held later during the SfN meeting, PiN faculty meet with ENDURE scholars to learn about their research and to encourage students to apply to PiN to pursue their graduate training. In addition to the ENDURE programming, PiN also participates in the Graduate Recruitment Fair held during the meeting.
In addition to Neuroscience-specific recruitment events, PiN faculty and student representatives participate in recruitment efforts organized across Harvard Integrated Life Sciences (HILS) programs. These include attendance at the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Sciences (SACNAS) National Diversity in STEM Conference, the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), the New England Science Symposium (NESS), and the Biomedical Science Careers Program (BSCP) Conference, as well as HILS-wide open houses.
Many PiN students volunteer as mentors with outreach programs for high school students and undergraduates, organized in partnership with the Division of Medical Sciences and Harvard Medical School, such as the Summer Honors Undergraduate Research Program (SHURP), Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP), the Native American High School Program, and the AP Bio Hinton Scholars Program, and with external STEM outreach programs such as those highlighted below.
